Thomas t



(No Model.)

T. T. ECKERT. CLIP OR HANGER CLASP FOR SUPPORTING GABLES, &c.

No. 374,948. Patented Dec. 20, 1887.

ammo z 3513 W Gimme/1, I

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS T. EGKERT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CLIP OR HANGER-CLASP FOR SUPPORTING CABLES, C.

SPECIFICATION formin part of Letters Patent No. 374.94 dated December20, l

Application filed May 31, 1887. Serial No. 239,903.

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, Tnorrns T. EOKERT, residing in the city, county, andState of New York, a citizen of the United States of America, have madea new and useful Improvement in Clips or Hanger- Clasps for SuspendingElectrical Gables from Auxiliary Supporting Wires or Lines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Overhead cables such as are usually employed possess little tensilestrength and are inadequate to support their own weight when placed uponpoles long distances apart. To avoid the use of many poles and at thesame time properly support the cable,itis suspended from an auxiliarysupporting-wire by means of clips or hangers at points only a few feetapart; and my invention has for its object the construction of such aclip or hanger which may be applied and removed in hanging cables withlittle labor, and which may be very. cheaply made.

I will now describe my invention by reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

Figure l is a perspective view showing my hanger-clip before, after, andduring its application to suspend a cable from a supportingwire. Fig. 2shows a cross-section of Fig. 1, through the hanger-clip N, the clip ashere shown being simply slipped over the supporting-wire and cable. Fig.3 represents a front view of my hanger-clip shown in Fig. 2.

In making my improved hanger clips I preferably employ a piece of sheetor strap iron of about one inch in width and one-sixteenth or onetwenty-fourth of an inch in thickness, and this strip, with theexception of its ends. is bent to an oval form, 0, whose radius ofcurvature is considerably greater than that of the cable to besupported. The ends primarily retain their former plane-like shape, oneforming a lip of about or a little more than twice the length of theother. The longer lip is next bent near its middle to form a hook whosesides make an angle of ninety degrees, (90,) more or less, and thosesides are designated in the drawings as a b, the latter constituting theshank and the former the lip of the hook. The lip at the opposite end ofthe clip is designated as d. By bending the sections at b to about aright angle and curving (No model.)

section 0, as above indicated, an aperture between the free ends of lipsor and d will be left of sufficient width to permit the clip to belaterally slipped over the cable T and the supporting-wire S, while theangle between the sides a b, as shown in Fig. 2, affords a temporarysupport for the clip upon wire S. As thus constructed, only very littleremains to be done to apply the clip to perform its function as acable-support. Tongs or pliers are first applied near the extremities ofthe curved section 0, closely compressing it around the cable. The lip dis then bent into a position parallel with and close to the shank b, andsubsequently lip a is bent down and over the free end of lip d.

It is essential to a proper construction of my clip that the sides a bbe made as short as possible, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

" The particular purpose of this arrangement of lips a (l and shank b ofthe clasp is as follows: The weight of the cable tends to bend section 0of the clip and to cause lip 01 to become separated from shank b. Thisforce, however, is resisted by the free end of lip (I being firmly heldagainst lateral displacement by the downwardly-projecting lip a, andobviously the resistance offered by lip a to such spreading actiondepends largely upon the position of contact between the outer surfaceof lip d and the inner surface of lip a. If the free end of lip d werein contact with lip a only a little above its lower end, littleresistance to spreading action would be afforded, owing to the shortleverage of lip a. If, however, lip a were considerablyelongated, onlylittle force, if applied atits lower end, would be required to distendthe shank and lip of the hook. The resistance to spreading, however,is'rendered great from the fact that the upper end of d presses againstthe inner side of lip a at a point near the angle of the hook, thusleaving only little leverage between the position of contact and theangle.

The strength of the locking portion of the clip, as already stated,depends largely upon the shortness of the lips a d and shank b, forresistance to spreading action will be almost inversely proportional tothe length of these parts. By making lip d short it can be only slightlybent between its free end and its junction with the curved section 0,-also, by making lip a short there will be no portion of it far removedfrom the angle or hook against which lip d can press; and, again, asshank b is very short, great force would be required to laterallydisplace it in respect to the curved section 0.

By this construction a clip may be made possessing great strength ofordinary strapiron and of such lightness and flexibility that it can bereadily applied with the aid of simple pliers or tongs. v

I am aware that others have made hangerclips resembling in a generalmanner the one hereinbefore described 5 but in such cases where a singlepiece of strap-iron has been employed auxiliary devices have beenresorted to to prevent the ends of the clip from spreading. For example,in the patent of A. S. Veaver, No. 308,220, November 18, 1884. a lateralbolt is used to hold the three parallel portions (the two lips and theshank) of the clip together. Without this bolt the upwardly-projectingand free end of the clip would be displaced and the cable would not beretained within the clip. Others have also shown this class of clip withother devices than a bolt for holding its free end from displacement.George L. WViley, in Letters Patent obtained by him 'January 4, 1887,shows a hook upon the free end of the clip interlocked with acorresponding hook upon the lip of the hook passing over thesupporting-wire. I

My invention is intended to obviate the use of all auxiliary devices forpreventing the free end of the clip from spreading, and this isaccomplished byinclosing the free end ofthe clip within the hook at itsopposite end, and within the same hook by which the clip is suspendedfrom the supporting-wire.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. As an article of manufacture, a hangerclip which, preparatory to itsapplication to suspend cables, is formed of strap-iron or other suitablematerial,having an oval section whose radius of curvature exceeds thatof the cable, a lip, d, at one end, and a lip, a, and shank 11, formingan angle or hook,at the other, as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination of a cable, T, an auxiliary supporting-wire, S, and asupporting-clip formed of lips a d, shank b, and a curved section, 0,the lip d being pressed parallel with and close to shank I), and thedownwardly-projecting lip a being pressed downward over the upper end oflip d.

3. A clip for suspending a cable from an auxiliary supporting-wire, oneof whose ends is bent over the supporting-wire downwardly and closelyagainst and over the upwardlyprojecting lip, forming the opposite end ofthe clip.

4. 'A clip for suspending a cable from an auxiliary supporting-wire,having a short lip at one end and a hook at the other, said hook servingas a support for the clip, and also as a means for inclosing theopposite end of the clip, to prevent its lateral displacement by theweight of the cable.

THOS. T. EOKERT.

Witnesses:-

G. L. BUOKINGHAM, A. S. BROWN.

